When a technological innovation is introduced,
not everyone adopts it at the same moment. Rather, there will be
innovators and there will also be laggards. Based upon the examination of
a large number of studies in innovation diffusion, Rogers proposed a method of
adopter categorization. First, it was observed that the time to adoption
follows the bell-shaped Gaussian curve when the frequency histogram is plotted
against time. In turn, this meant that the cumulative number of adopters
follows an S-shaped curve (see example). Rogers suggested that the normal curve be
discretized as follows:

the first 2.5% of the adopters are the
"innovators"

the next 13.5% of the adopters are the
"early adopters"

the next 34% of the adopters are the
"early majority"

the next 34% of the adopters are the
"late majority"

the last 16% of the adopters are the
"laggards"

For a technological innovation to take off, the
first two groups are obviously the most important ones. Rogers (1983) characterized these two groups as follows:

Innovators: Venturesome

Observers have noted that venturesomeness is
almost an obsession with innovators. They are very eager to try new
ideas. This interest leads them out of a local circle of peer networks
and into more cosmopolite social relationships. Communication patterns
and friendships among a clique of innovators are common, even though the
geographical distance between the innovators may be considerable. Being
an innovator has several prerequisites. These include control of
substantial financial resources to absorb the possible loss owing to an
unprofitable innovation and the ability to understand and apply complex
technical knowledge. The innovator must be able to cope with the high
degree of uncertainty about an innovation at the time that the innovator
adopts.

The salient value of the innovator is
venturesomeness. He or she desires the hazardous, the rash, the daring,
and the risky. The innovator must also be willing to accept an
occasional setback when one of the new ideas he or she adopts proves unsuccessful, as inevitably happens. While an innovator may not be
respected by the other members of a social system, the innovator plays an
important role in the diffusion process: that of launching the new idea in the
social system by importing the innovation from outside of the system's
boundaries. Thus, the innovator plays a gatekeeping role in the flow of
new ideas into a social system.

Early Adopters: Respectable

Early adopters are a more integrated part of
the local social system than are innovators. Whereas innovators are
cosmopolites, early adopters are localities. This adopter category, more
than any other, has the greatest degree of opinion leadership in most social
systems. Potential adopters look to early adopters for advice and
information about the innovation. The early adopter is considered by
many as the "individual to check with" before using a new
idea. This adopter category is generally sought by change agents to be a
local missionary for speeding the diffusion process. Because early
adopters are not too far ahead of the average individual in innovativeness,
they serve as a role model for many other members of a social system.
The early adopter is respected by his or her peers, and is the embodiment of
successful and discrete use of new ideas. And the early adopters that to
continue to earn this esteem of colleagues and to maintain a central position
in the communication structure of the system, he or she must make judicious
innovation decisions. So the role of the early adopter is to decrease
uncertainty about a new idea by adopting it, and then conveying a subjective
evaluation of the innovation to near-peers by means of interpersonal networks.

We will now present some survey data from the TGI
Chile study conducted by Time IBOPE in late 1999. This is a survey of
2,003 persons between the ages of 12 and 64 living in the Gran Santiago
area. The key question here is "I am usually among the first to
acquire new technology." Among all adults, 6.8% of them either
"Completely agree" or "Somewhat agree" with this
statement. We will call these people the "Early Adopters."

Of course, this question itself does not permit
us to distinguish between Rogers' "Innovators" and "Early
Adopters". But, as Rogers pointed out himself, innovativeness is a
continuous concept and the categorization into mutually exclusive discrete
groups is just a conceptual device, like the categorization of socio-economic
status into groups such as A, B, C1, C2, C3 and D. So the survey question
here is used to identify the innovators/early adopters in a loose sense.
We also note that the term 'technology' is used in a very broad sense here and
may not be applicable to any specific instance of a technology, as a person
competent in information technology may be untrained in biotechnology, a person
who develops computer software may know nothing about network routers, and
so on.

Since early adoption entails the ability to
comprehend and manipulate complex technology, one would expect that these people
to be well-educated and well-financed. The next table shows the presence
of the early adopters by education and socioeconomic level, showing the
percentages and the index (which is 100 times the corresponding percentage
divided by the 6.8% present in the adult population). Indeed, we see that
early adoption is a function of increasing education and socio-economic status.

The adoption of technology could refer to either
personal or business use. However, it is extremely unlikely that these
domains are separate. That is, anyone who is an expert in an area of
technology as a personal user is likely to be a resource within his or her work organization. In
the next table, we show the percentages of early adopters by job position and responsibilities.

Business Purchasing Responsibilities
Telephone products/services
Cellular telephone for business use
Personal computers for business use
Internet services for business use
Fax machines
Photocopiers

15%
13%
19%
20%
16%
18%

211
185
279
287
236
265

(source: TGI Chile, Time IBOPE)

If you were astute, you would have noticed that
the citation above contains this sentence:
"Communication patterns and friendships among a clique of innovators are
common, even though the geographical distance between the innovators may be
considerable." This was written in 1983, before the Internet
appeared. Today, geographical distance between technology experts is largely
irrelevant. Even if someone else is just down the street, it is much
easier to send an e-mail than to get out there. Just as importantly, access to technology information is also
much easier now over the Internet.

Among the early adopters, 27% of them have used the
Internet in the last 3 months, compared to 16% in the population. Here are
some of their important uses of the Internet for the early adopters: